Dried White Peas Gravy/Safedh Vatana Masala/Vatana Curry/Vellai pattani Masala

Dried White peas are one of my favourites to make gravies. They just drink in all the flavours from the gravy and comes out very well except for they have to be soaked well in advance to be cooked properly.
After making ragda i had about half a packet(1/2 kg pack)and i wanna get over with it ASAP as they were getting old and i m due in for my next grocery purchase. This recipe is that of my sis-in-law to make channa as there are not much of spice lovers in her family wherein this gravy has only mild flavours of spice. As I have many other recipes for channa i set this recipe for white peas and it tastes yumm.

Ingredients:

Dried White Peas-1 & 1/2 cup

Onions-4 large, chopped

Tomatoes-4 large, chopped

Red chilli powder-1 & ½ tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Sambar Powder-1/2tsp

Salt-as needed

To Temper:

Cardamom-1

Cloves-2

Cinnamon-1/2 inch stick

Bay leaf-1 small/ ½ a big leaf

Oil-2 tbsp

To Garnish:

Coriander leaves-2 tbsp

Onion-1, finely chopped

Lemon-1, wedges

How it Happened:

1. Wash and soak the dried white peas in inch deep water for overnight/8 hours. Add the peas and soaked water to a pressure cooker along with turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.

2. Cook for 1 whistle in medium flame. Switch off the flame. Allow the pressure to get released.

3. Heat oil in a kadai, add the spices given under the ‘to temper’ list and when they pop add onion and fry until they turn glassy.

4. Add tomatoes and cook covered until they turn mushy.

5. Remove the lid add salt, coriander powder and sambar powder. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes.

6. Now take about quarter of this fried onion-tomato mix and add it to a blender jar along with a handful of cooked peas. Grind them to a smooth paste.

7. Add the remaining cooked peas along with the water, rest of fried onion-tomatoes and ground paste to a pressure cooker mix well and cook in medium flame for 1 whistle /7-10minutes in simmer. Switch off the flame.

8. Once the pressure is released, transfer the contents to a serving bowl, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and onions with a wedge of lemon. Serve hot with rotis.

Notes:

*Make sure you soak the peas overnight else will not get cooked properly.

*When you pressure cook the peas in the first step, it may seem only par boiled don’t worry as we are once again cooking it during the last stage. Also if it is completely boiled in the first step when you cook it for the second time the peas will turn mushy and shapeless.

* Trust me! sambar powder creates the magic here! Check out here for my sambar powder recipe.

* Grinding the peas, onions and tomatoes acts as a thickening agent in the gravy.

*I always use the water in which the pulses are soaked in as i wash them before soaking. And also the soaked contains the dissolved vitamins and goodness from the pulses.

* Yes! I didn’t have any coriander leaves in hand which is clearly visible in my photos. But they for sure add an excellent flavour to the dish.